1. What kind of people do your luxury tours cater for?

Our private tours are high end, chauffeured and luxurious vacations that combine great wine, gourmet and regional cuisine, art, architecture, history, culture and pristine scenery. They suit people of all ages, as they are not strenuous or physically demanding. Our clients include:

Our clients come from all over the world and we have had guests from the USA, UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, Ireland, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Russia, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Israel, Puerto Rico, and more.

Our staff are all native and/or fluent English speakers and we also cater to French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian and Japanese speaking guests.

2. Do you offer scheduled or private tours?

Our tours are private, just for you and your travel partner/private group. We do not offer scheduled tours for mixed groups of guests who do not know each other. You will have a personal chauffeur and additional English speaking tour guides, depending on the itinerary and destination.

3. Are tours customizable?

Absolutely! The various itineraries on the website are sample itineraries so you can get a taste of the kinds of activities, destinations, etc we can offer. What we specialize in though is custom designed itineraries. We create your dream tour based on your travel preferences (arrival and departure dates, your preferred destination, etc), main interests (wine tasting, private cooking classes, guided walking tours, shopping tours, pampering like spa and yoga, etc), desired hotel types and room types (4 stars, 5 stars and ultra luxury 5 star Luxe; deluxe, junior suite, suite, presidential suite, etc), preferred daily start times, desired amount of free time vs. activities, etc. When you contact us for your customized tour we will send you your initial request form to provide all of this information, and then we will follow up with a telephone consultation to assemble your first draft. We refine your custom proposal as many times as necessary until we have created the perfect tour for you. For more information on our custom tours, contact us at [email protected]

4. How much do your tours cost?

Price for our luxury tours is based on the number of guests in your private group; the amount of chauffeur services included; the destination; the style of hotels and room types included; the style and number of meals (Michelin starred restaurants, tasting menus, etc) and final selection of activities. For a group of two people, price starts at 550 euros per person per day. This starting pricing would include private chauffeur for all activities and transfers; accommodation in excellent four star hotels in superior rooms, breakfast and the main meal every day including wines; the day’s activities like wine tasting, sightseeing, cooking, etc; various gourmet gifts and all local taxes. Feel free to contact us for specific pricing on any of our sample itineraries on the website, in addition to pricing for your custom tour.

5. What is the pace of the tours like?

You tell us the pace you want! During the planning stages of your custom tour, you tell us the average time you like to start your days; the amount of activities you want vs. amount of free time; the maximum number of hotel changes you want; and the main goal of your tour, for example to relax or to explore

6. What will the weather be like?

Ireland

Called the emerald isle as it is very green due to regular rain, it is certainly not unusual for it to rain in Ireland! They say Ireland has all four seasons in a day, and it’s true that it tends to rain lightly very frequently, but you should also get pockets of sunshine, particularly in the months of April to October. The best months of the year to see Ireland are May to September regards to weather, but Ireland is beautiful any time of the year. Just don’t come with expectations of hitting the beach!More information on Ireland travel.

Italy

Northern Italy, particularly near the mountains, has a cold, continental winter and a hot, humid summer. Southern Italy has fairly balmy temperatures in winter and extremely hot summers. Late spring and autumn are optimum times for weather, which is at is best in May, June and September. The best months of the year to travel to Italy, in terms of good weather and avoiding the main tourist crowds, are April to October. That said, winter is also a great time to enjoy an Italian city break as there are few tourists and you’ll have museums and historic centers of cities on your own, alongside the locals. More information on Italian travel.

Portugal

Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Portugal has a maritime climate. Winter brings rain and overcast conditions in the center and north while the winter is relatively mild in the Algarve. The inland Alentejo wine country is beautifully sunny but very cold in winter. Spring is spectacular in the Alentejo, Lisbon and Algarve, but still quite chilly in the northern Douro. Summer in the Portuguese interior is extremely hot, but the weather is tempered along the coast. The best months of the year to visit Portugal are May, June, September and October.

Spain

Spain’s climate varies dramatically region to region! Spain has coastline on the Atlantic and Mediterranean, as well as numerous interior mountain ranges (The Pyrenees, Sierra Nevada, Picos de Europa, Alpujarras, etc), and islands (Balearic Islands like Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza; and Canary Islands like Tenerife, Gran Canaria and La Gomera). We work predominantly in the Atlantic North (Basque Country, Rioja and Ribera del Duero), Mediterranean North (Catalonia), Madrid and Andalusia (the south) and in all of these regions the best months to visit are May, June, September and October. More information on Spain travel

7. When is the best time to come?

See above. The best months to travel to avoid the crowds are November to April. The best months for mild weather are April, May, June and September. For beach weather, summer is best. For wine lovers, the harvest time is the most interesting (late August to November, depending on the region).

8. How do I book a tour with you?

Once you are satisfied with your customized proposal, we send you the list of information we need from you to raise the invoice and booking form (your name, address, preferred form of payment, confirmed dates, names of guests, so forth). We then issue you an invoice and booking form. The Booking Form is to be signed and filled in, then faxed or scanned and emailed to us. Once we receive the Booking Form, we will proceed with processing your payment and booking all suppliers. Specific suppliers are subject to availability at receipt of deposit. In the occasion that a supplier is not available another one of equal or superior value will be organized for you.

9. How much is the deposit?

To reserve your trip, we require a 30% deposit of the trip total to confirm the services. The balance must be paid within 30 days prior to departure. If start date is less than 30 days away, payment is due in full.

10. What insurance do I need?

Please note that travel insurance, medical insurance and cancellation insurance are not included. We require that you have travel and medical insurance before joining us on a tour. We ask that you review the limited amount of the coverage included in your individual insurance package and confirm that you are adequately covered for any eventuality. We highly recommend you also book cancellation insurance to protect yourself against any eventuality including any financial loss in case of illness, accident, or other situations cause you to cancel your holiday.

11. What methods of payment do you accept?

American Express, Visa, Mastercard and Bank Wire.

12. What is Cellar Tours cancellation policy?

Cellar Tastings S.L. strictly adheres to its cancellation policy and cannot make exceptions. If for a certain reason you are forced to cancel your trip with us, our policy is clear and straightforward: More than 30 days prior to departure: we will refund your deposit less a 500 Euro administration fee per person. Less than 30 days, we do not forward refunds. Cellar Tastings S.L. is not responsible for expenses incurred in the eventuality of cancelled trips, such as airline tickets, and we highly suggest taking out trip cancellation insurance. There is no refund for arriving late or leaving a trip early. Cellar Tastings S.L reserves the right to modify the wineries visited, hotels and restaurants detailed in the itinerary, according to availability.

13. What documents do I need to bring?

Your passport and a visa if required (ask us if you have any doubts about this, entry requirements vary country to country). In addition to this we suggest bringing an additional photo ID, as well as keeping copies of your passport in a different location from the original, in case of loss or theft.

14. Are flights included in the cost of the tour?

Our tours are "land only", which means that your flight arrangements are not made by us. There are a number of reasons for this. People may choose to go on one of our tours as a part of their greater European holiday, for example. People also have different travel preferences, economy, business, and so on. Additionally, there are so many discounts, last minute offers and specials on the internet that the customer has greater flexibility organizing his or her own flights. We can absolutely recommend airlines and provide flight information for you.